How Extreme Weather affects by global warming (Climate change)

How Extreme Weather affects by global warming (Climate change) ?

There is currently a massive storm churning over the Atlantic that spans the entire ocean basin, stretching all the way from Canada to Europe, and from Greenland to the Caribbean.

It's the same weather system that brought a massive spring blizzard to much of the United States and Canada earlier this week (on Tuesday (March 26), 44 of 50 states had some snow on the ground), and which has now ballooned in size, according to Jason Samenow, chief meteorologist with the Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang.

Robert Oszajca, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service's Ocean Prediction Center, explained that the storm got this big by merging with several low-pressure systems that were hanging out over the Atlantic Ocean. The merging weather systems gave it more power, which was accentuated by a gradient between warm moisture from the southeast, delivered by the Gulf Stream, and frigid air from the north. This intensified the storm, causing it to spin, elongate and grow in size, Oszajca told OurAmazingPlanet.

Normally, the system would have drifted into Europe several days ago. However, a high-pressure system over Greenland blocked the low-pressure system's advance, which allowed it to strengthen further, fed by cold air from the north. This created winds (which move from high pressure to low pressure) up to 75 mph (120 km/h), equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, Oszajca said. 

"We're impressed with the size of this storm," he said. Nevertheless, storms this big form about once or twice every winter.

The storm, which looks like a large comma whose tail stretches into the Caribbean, ranges from Eastern Canada all the way to Spain and north to Greenland. It has created waves up to 42 feet (13 meters) high, Oszajca said.

The storm has already begun to weaken, however, as the high-pressure "blocking" system to the north has eased. Oszajca said the central low-pressure system that has powered the storm will soon break up into several separate centers, and the storm will fragment before hitting Portugal in about four days. The storm isn't expected to be very intense by the time it reaches Europe.

Resource: weather.yahoo.com

Global Warming Effects For Increased Natural Disasters

Floods, landslides, high winds, wildfires, high waves, and droughts are natural disasters that regularly approached. These disasters are coming more often, it is difficult to predict, on a bigger scale than ever before. Earth is being sensitive to global warming, climate change, human activity coupled with an apathetic, indifferent to natural resource exploitation uncontrollably, clearly contributing in the process.

More than 6,000 natural disasters are expected to occur in the last twenty years. While 252 million people worldwide affected by various types of natural disasters - not including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other disasters unrelated to climate.

However, a researcher Austria stated that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are part of the disasters caused by global warming. Increased earthquake activity currently five times greater than it was twenty years ago, because the Earth absorbs more heat energy from the sun than the inverted radiation back into space, and lead to imbalances. The earth is getting warmer and increases the activity of seismic motion, tectonic, and volcanic. When you look at this statement, then the impact of global warming on the increase in disasters and the death toll count greater.

Indonesia is an archipelago with a fourth-longest coastline in the world along 95 181 km, a confluence of three major tectonic plates: the Indo-Australian Plate, the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate and passed two lines or a series of volcanoes, namely: circum-Pacific and circum Mediterranean .

This condition is caused Indonesia to be vulnerable to natural disasters caused by global warming - climate change. In 2015, the estimated number of people living in vulnerable areas affected by natural disasters and global warming (climate change) in the world increased 54 percent to reach 375 million people per year. Economic level, poverty, lack of disaster measures the percentage of deaths caused in poor and developing countries is far greater than the developed countries.

Borneo, the island is spelled "relatively" safer than other islands in Indonesia because it does not pass through a series of active volcanoes and the active tectonic plates move, it can not be separated from the problem of disasters due to climate change. Floods, landslides, high waves, droughts, and forest fires have been a disaster to be ready to face the population living in Borneo. Followed by a long hot after heavy rainfall, causing flooding and vulnerable to landslides. High waves swept the settlements on the coast. And disasters that come more frequently with larger scale, it is also felt in the city of Balikpapan.

Forest fires are the most popular disaster facing Kalimantan. Biggest fire ever in East Kalimantan occurred in 1997/1998 after the great fire in 1982/1983 due to climate phenomenon El Nino, temperatures high temperatures caused by global warming. Global warming, climate change, high temperatures will be answered by the negligent behavior caused wildfires into risky thing to happen in Borneo.

Sungai Wain Protection Forest (HLSW) owned by the city of Balikpapan also caught fire, the effects of El Nino. The impact of forest fires can be felt directly in human activities, smog that impair vision, disrupting flight schedules to endanger the flight. Wildfires also cause us to lose a lot of natural resources, flora and fauna.
Global warming is real, things that affect our daily lives whether we realize or not realize it. We need to be concerned about the risks of global warming-climate change, we need to change our behavior for the better. We need to do energy efficiency, switching to renewable alternative energy use, planting vegetation, and stop the exploitation of natural resources excessively. Natural disasters due to global warming-climate change mitigation action is not only necessary, but also a change in attitude

Global Warming: Effects And Solutions

You may have heard dire warnings this many times. Carbon dioxide (CO2) from human due to the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas accumulating in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a gas that causes the greenhouse effect due to heat trapped and can not get out of the Earth's atmosphere so that the temperature of the earth heats up. Al Gore warned that global warming is caused by carbon dioxide emissions, could increase sea levels by 20 feet and can cause a deadly storm.

Some scientists do not support this theory and other predictions are eerily like Al Gore and his allies repeatedly yelled the "scientific consensus." Global warming is real and carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to it, but this is not a crisis. Global warming in the 21st century tend to be simple, it can even be beneficial in some places. Even in the worst case, the human race will be much better in 2100 than it is today. Thus the opinion of the scientists.

Greenhouse gases stay can stay in the atmosphere for many - years ranging from decades to hundreds and thousands of years. No matter what we do, global warming will have an impact on Earth. Here are 5 deadly effects of global warming.

5. Spread of disease

When the northern states of the Earth is getting warmer, diseases and insects migrate north, bringing plague and disease with them. Even some scientists even believe that in some countries thanks to global warming, malaria has not been fully eradicated.

4.Perairan warm and frequent storm frequency

As ocean temperatures rise, storm chances will arise more frequently and stronger. We see this happen in 2004 and 2005, where a huge storm hit several countries.

3. Increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat waves

Although some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming, other areas will suffer serious droughts and heat waves. Africa will receive the worst, with more severe droughts also occur in Europe. Water has become so scarce goods in Africa, and according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global warming will exacerbate the conditions and could lead to conflict and war.

Economic 2.Konsekuensi

Most of the effects of anthropogenic global warming will not be good. And this effect refers to one thing for the countries of the world: economic consequences. The storm caused billions of dollars in losses due to damage, maintenance costs and other circumstances worsen.

1. Polar ice melt

Melting ice at both poles is indicative of four other dangers that may arise.

First, It will increase sea levels. There were 5.773 million cubic kilometers of water ice, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today, sea water will rise about 230 feet. Fortunately, it will not happen all at the same time! But sea levels will continue to rise, slowly but surely.

Second, melting ice caps will affect the global ecosystem out of balance, and when they melt they will desalinate the ocean, or make reduced seawater acidity levels or desalinization. Desalinization it will make a "mess" of ocean currents. Irregularity would cool the area around the northeastern United States and Western Europe. Fortunately, it is actually that will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area!

Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the arctic circle will endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.

Fourth, global warming could eliminate snowball with the ice caps. Ice caps are white, and reflect the sun's heat back into space, further on the matter if the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. We all know that the sea is dark colors and dark colors absorb more of the sun's heat, thus warming the maximum.

So what is the solution? Are we just going to remain silent? Are there any positive effects of global warming? What about all the discourse about the solution of global warming?. Some of the following solutions may be criticized by friends - friends all readers:

1.) Remove all subsidies for fuel use.

Subsidies for fossil energy is the burden of millions of dollars for taxpayers while generating minimal benefit. Although the program is likely to be relatively small given the size of the domestic energy market, they serve only some people. The potential threat of global warming, whether it is real or not, only one way to eliminate this subsidy program is an international agreement that aims to end energy subsidies with binding targets that will deliver significant emissions reductions. Examples such as the Kyoto Protocol, which forces "energy diet" in the participating countries.

2.) Repeal Flood Insurance Program.

Many concerns about harmful effect of global warming in the United States related to rising sea levels and flooding will occur. However, a lot of investment potential in areas prone to flooding to the protection of the Federal Insurance Program from the U.S. Government. The program encourages development in areas prone to act in a kind of "moral hazard", investors are taking a greater risk because the government said it would help underwrite the risk. Against Reform program is more realistic answer to the issue of global warming.

3.) Reform of Air Traffic Control Systems.

Greater demand for air travel means more flights, which means greater fuel use and increased emissions. However, the government is still referring to the air traffic control system, which is based on the 1920's Beacon system which can hinder innovation to reduce fuel use and emissions. As a general rule, the shorter the flight, the less fuel will be consumed. However, both the airline and the pilots have the freedom to choose the most direct route and economical. Giving pilots the freedom to map out a route of course is an interesting and desirable in the eyes of the aviation industry, and the environmental impact would be tremendous. Because it involves a reform of air traffic needs to be done to reduce emissions from air traffic is increasingly dense in the era of globalization.

4.) Facilitate Private Electricity Provider Competition is cheap.

By rejecting the model of central government regulation of electricity monopoly and allow private electricity supplier as a supplier of cheap electricity to meet customer needs, waste and energy-related emissions would be reduced further, the government in this case quite as regulator. Waste reduction will prove economic benefits even if the emission itself does not pose a problem.

5.) Reducing Barriers regulation of nuclear energy development.

None other than nuclear technology proven to deliver emission-free energy on the scale required to make significant reductions in carbon emissions. The problem is that due to the anti-nuclear environmentalists in the 1970s, it takes a very long time to build a nuclear plant. This encourages the development and construction costs to uneconomic levels and competitive by building forms of electricity generation by fuels like coal and natural gas. According to the institute of nuclear energy, it takes 10 years from concept to operation to build a nuclear plant, and only four of them are construction, the remaining permit application development (2 years) and decision-making by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (4 years).

Health Effects of Global Warming

Global warming is all about adverse climate change caused by the trapping of green house gases (like carbon dioxide) in the earth’s atmosphere that affects biodiversity and poses a serious health hazard. Counter measures to facilitate living in hotter temperatures like air-conditioning and refrigeration will unfortunately consume more electricity from power plants that burn coal, releasing carbon dioxide. This will further spike global warming and have a seriously damaging influence on human health.

Causes of Global Warming

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide hold heat in the atmosphere creating a greenhouse effect and keep the earth warm enough to sustain life. Enhanced greenhouse effect or the abnormal increase of ‘greenhouse gases’ due to human activities like burning of solid waste, wood, fossil fuels like oil, natural gas and coal, deforestation and the release of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) from industrial processes cause more than normal heat to be trapped in the atmosphere and cause global warming.

Consequences of Global Warming

Climatic changes triggered by global warming can bring in their wake extreme conditions like abnormal storms, drought and floods and can be of immediate threat to life.

Recent outbreaks of malaria, dengue fever (“breakbone” fever), Hanta virus and similar diseases in the West due to climate change are the consequences of global warming, according to some Harvard Medical School doctors. The incidence of kidney stones is likely to go up and so are many other conditions. The long term serious consequence to human health is likely to threaten our very existence on this planet. Read some of the alarming facts related to it.

Global Warming Facts and Figures:-

• Extreme temperatures caused by climate change can directly cause death as in heat strokes-especially in the old and the young. Studies based on earlier heat wave events predict a 145% increase in deaths in New York

• Adverse impact of climate stress on agriculture worldwide may add 300 million victims of malnutrition to the existing number

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scientists project that warmer climates will increase malaria-carrying mosquitoes and put 65% of the world’s population at risk of malarial infection-an increase of 20% from the 1990s.

• Warm temperatures will aggravate air and water pollution and pose health hazards

• Some researchers predict algal blooms could occur more often-especially in polluted sea waters-and cause infectious diseases like cholera

In brief - global warming can soon become a risk factor for heat strokes, cardiovascular and respiratory problems. People with an ailing heart are especially vulnerable because the cardiovascular system has to work harder to cool the body in very hot weather. A heat wave in July 1995 killed more than 700 people in Chicago area alone.

High air temperatures increase the ozone concentration at ground level. Natural ozone layer in the upper atmosphere protects the earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation; but at ground level ozone becomes a harmful pollutant that damages lung tissue and aggravates asthma and other breathing diseases. Even in healthy individuals exposure to modest levels of ozone can cause nausea, chest pain and pulmonary congestion.

One school of scientists warn that if the globe continues to sizzle unchecked extreme weather conditions will cause infectious diseases and death worldwide. However there is another school of health experts who believe that global warming is a convenient scapegoat for putting the blame on increasing incidence of infectious diseases. They list other factors that are contributing to this increase that include:-

• Increasing disregard for public health practices (even simple things like washing hands),
• Overcrowding of cities,
• Rise in population of vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks - due to inadequate control measures
• Increased international travel by people that can take virus across the hemisphere
• Genetic mutation in bacteria and viruses

Developed nations have the ability and infrastructure to quickly identify and take adequate measures to curb the problems that can result from global warming. Examples include emergency measures such as moving people suffering from heat-stroke to air-conditioned rooms and stringent action to reduce the emission of photochemical compounds that cause ground-level ozone. Developing and under-developed countries are seriously handicapped in these areas of infrastructure and failure to draft and implement stringent laws against factories for adding to pollution and global warming

What Cause Global Warming

By Richard J Brady
For several decades, scientists have wondered what causes global warming. They looked at a number of things such as the natural cycles and events that influence the climate. Some things they learned that causes global warming include:

- Methane gas release in the areas of the wetlands and arctic tundra. Methane is known as a greenhouse gas that results in heat bring trapped inside the atmosphere.
- Climate change cycle, which tends to occur every 40,000 years.
- Lots of volcano activity causes an increase of greenhouse gases.
- Sunspots

And, while they've looked at the above events and cycles, they noted that the pattern and amount of global warming cannot be explained by them alone. Scientists could only explain that the pattern included human's effect on the greenhouse gases. After all, the human population is growing rapidly, which means they're raising more animals for food and have regular growth in technology.

Now, scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC), meet every several years to check on recent scientific findings and put together a report that summarizes everything they've learned about global warming.

Greenhouse Gases Causes Global Warming
Now, one thing scientists have learned on what causes global warming is that there are several kinds of greenhouse gases responsible for the problem. And, humans are largely responsible for these greenhouse gases, emitting them off in a number of ways. Most greenhouse gases come in the form of fossil fuel combustion such as electricity production, cars and factories. The primary cause of global warming, however, is carbon dioxide, which is also known as CO2.

So what causes global warming? Some other causes include methane from agriculture and landfills, fertilizers' nitrous oxide, gases used in industrial processed and refrigeration and deforestation, which leads to CO2.
When people drive their cars, heat homes with either natural gas or oil or use electricity from plants that use coal, they release more heat-trapping gases like CO2 into the environment. Deforestation means there are fewer trees and when there are fewer trees planted, it means less carbon dioxide being changed over into usable oxygen.

The heat-trapping abilities of the different greenhouse gases vary. Some tend to trap more heat than carbon dioxide does. One molecule of methane generates over 20 times the warming of a CO2 molecule. Nitrous oxide is nearly 300 times stronger than carbon dioxide. Chlorofluorocarbons, which are banned in most of the world due to causing the degradation of the ozone layer, can trap heat more than a thousand times more than carbon dioxide. However, since their concentration is lower than CO2, they don't add a lot of warmth to the environment.

When scientists get together, they tend to converse about the different greenhouse gases and how their equivalent amount to carbon dioxide. Since the early 1990s, annual emissions of CO2 has risen to around six billion metric tons or a 20 percent increase.

Bear in mind that in the industrial age, carbon dioxide emissions increased by approximately 31 percent. And, during the same time, there was a 151 percent increase in environmental methane, which came from agricultural activities like growing rice or raising cattle.

What causes global warming is the increase of greenhouse gases because more heat becomes trapped in the atmosphere and is not able to escape into space. This rise in the amount of trapped heat will lead to changes in the environment, altering weather patterns, speeding up species extension, influencing the seasons, causes coastal flooding and resulting in more severe storms.

No doubt greenhouse gases have a direct impact on what causes global warming. So, it's up the humans all around the world to ban together and reduce the release of greenhouse gases to save the environment... and the world!

If you are not quite sure exactly what Global Warming is, read this What is Global Warming page and you may also want to check out the answers to other common questions at our General Knowledge site!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_J_Brady
http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Causes-Global-Warming?&id=6837752

Causes of Global Warming On Earth

What is Global Warming (Global Warming ?

Maybe you never imagine being in a car that was sealed during the day. Sunlight can freely enter the room through the windshield, causing the air in the car to over heat. The air in the car warms up, the heat incoming sunlight can not freely exit. So the heat is trapped in the car.

So it is with global warming. The sun emits radiation to penetrate the Earth's upper atmosphere of the earth. Radiation will be reflected back into space, but some of the wave is absorbed by greenhouse gases, ie CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, and SF4 which is in the atmosphere. As a result, the trapped waves in the Earth's atmosphere. This event occurs repeatedly, causing the average temperature at the earth's surface increases. The event is often referred to as global warming.

What Are the Causes of Global Warming?
Global warming is a global phenomenon that is caused by human activities around the world, population increase, and the growth of technology and industry. Therefore, the global impact events. Some human activities that cause global warming consists of:

Consumption of fossil fuel energy. The industrial sector is the largest contributor to carbon emissions, while transportation second. According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (2003), the consumption of fossil fuel energy consuming as much as 70% of total energy consumption, while electricity takes second place with 10% of total energy consumption. From this sector, Indonesia emit greenhouse gases at 24.84% of the total greenhouse gas emissions.

Indonesia is the largest energy consuming country in Asia after China, Japan, India and South Korea. Large energy consumption is obtained due to the large population using fossil fuels as an energy source, although in the calculation of energy use per person in the developing world, is not as energy use per person in the developed world. According to Prof. Emil Salim, USA CO2/orang emit 20 tons per year with a population of 1.1 billion people, China CO2/orang emits 3 tons per year by the number of 1.3 billion people, while India emits 1.2 tonnes CO2/orang by the number 1 billion people.


Thus, the amount of greenhouse gases discharged into the atmosphere from this sector is related to lifestyle and population. USA is a country with a population that has a very extravagant lifestyle, the consumption of energy derived from fossil fuels, in contrast to a number of developing countries that emit greenhouse gases, due to the accumulation of large population.

Trash. Waste methane gas (CH4). An estimated 1 ton of solid waste produces 50 kg of methane gas. Garbage is a major problem faced by cities in Indonesia. According to the Ministry of Environment in 1995 the average person in urban areas in Indonesia produce waste as much as 0.8 kg / day in 2000 and continued to increase to 1 kg / day. On the other hand the population continues to increase, it is estimated, by 2020 the waste produced 500 million kg / day or 190 thousand tons / year. With this amount the waste will emit methane gas by 9500 tons / year. Thus, urban waste is a potential sector, accelerate the process of global warming.

Deforestation. One of the functions of plants that absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), which is one of the greenhouse gases, and turn it into oxygen (O2). Currently in Indonesia has been known to severe deforestation. The rate of forest destruction in Indonesia, according to data from Forest Watch Indonesia (2001), about 2.2 million / year. Damage caused by forest fires, land-use change, among others, changes in forest into plantations with a single crop on a large scale, such as palm oil, as well as damage caused by forest concession holders (HPH) and Industrial Forest Plantation (HTI). With damage as mentioned above, of course, the process of absorption of carbon dioxide can not be optimal. This will speed up global warming.

According to data from the Rainbow Foundation, in 1990, CO2 emissions released by the forestry sector, including changes in land use, reaching 64% of total CO2 emissions of Indonesia reached 748.61 kilotons. In 1994 there was an increase to 74% of carbon emissions.

Agriculture and animal husbandry. This sector contributed to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions through flooded rice fields that produce methane gas, fertilizer use and agricultural practices, the burning of crop residues, and decaying remnants of agriculture, and livestock manure decomposition. This sector generated greenhouse gases are methane (CH4) gas and dinitro oxide (N20). In Indonesia, agriculture and livestock sector accounts for emissions of greenhouse gases by 8:05% of the total greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Impact of Global Warming
As a global phenomenon, the impact of global warming is felt by all people in the world, including Indonesia. The position of Indonesia as an archipelago, Indonesia put in a state vulnerable to global warming. As a result of global warming, Indonesia will face events:
First, the rise in global temperatures, causing the melting of ice at the north pole and south, resulting in the expansion of ocean water masses, and rising sea levels. This will decrease the production of fish and shrimp ponds, and the bleaching of coral reefs (coral bleaching), and the extinction of various species of fish. In addition, rising sea levels will lead to small islands in Indonesia and the ramps will be lost. Another threat facing society is the deterioration of groundwater quality, as a result of the entry or leakage of sea water, as well as urban infrastructure damaged as a result flooded by seawater.

Second, the shift of the season as a result of changes in rainfall patterns. Climate change resulting in a high rainfall intensity in a short period and a long dry season. In some places there is an increase in rainfall thus increasing the chances of flooding and landslides, while in other places there is a decrease in rainfall of potential drought. Most of the watershed (DAS) will be differences in the level of high tide and low tide are more sharply. This resulted in an increased frequency of flooding or drought. This condition will get worse if the capacity of a river or reservoir agency is not maintained due to erosion.

Both of these events will have an impact on some sectors, namely:

Forestry. The change of several species of flora and fauna. The temperature rise will be a factor selectors nature, where species that can adapt will survive and, in fact likely to proliferate rapidly. While the species that are not able to adapt, will become extinct. The existence of fires as a result of rising temperatures around the forest, causing the grass and twigs that dries flammable. In addition, forest fires cause the extinction of various biodiversity.

Fisheries. Increased ocean temperatures cause coral bleaching and subsequent death of coral reefs, as a habitat for many species of fish. Rising ocean temperatures also trigger the migration of fish are sensitive to temperature changes on a large scale leading to cooler areas. Events demise of coral reefs and fish migration, economically, because it lowers harmful fishermen their catch.

Agriculture. In general, all forms of agricultural systems are sensitive to climate change. Climate change results in a shift in seasons and rainfall patterns change. It will impact on farming, for example, delay planting or harvesting, planting failure, or harvest due to floods, landslides and drought. Resulting in a drop in food production in Indonesia. In short, climate change will affect food security.

Health. The impact of global warming in this sector is increasing the frequency of tropical diseases, such as mosquito-borne diseases (malaria and dengue), outbreaks of diarrhea, sickness or leptospirasis rat urine and skin diseases. The increase in temperature will cause the shorter the incubation period so that mosquitoes mosquitoes to multiply faster. Catastrophic floods would cause contamination of water supplies, causing outbreaks of diarrhea and leptospirosis disease in the post-flood. Meanwhile, the drought will cause water crisis affecting the onset of diarrhea and skin diseases. Acute Respiratory Disease (ARD) is also a threat as forest fires.

In addition to the impact of the above, there were some extraordinary events that indicate global warming, namely:

    The year 2005 was the warmest. NASA reported that the global average temperature has increased by 0.060 C.
    Disbursement greatest Arctic in 2005. The results of one of the satellite photos show permanently ice-covered area is the narrowest area in the late summer of 2005.
    The year 2005 was the warmest water in the Caribbean, longer than ever and lead to coral bleaching (coral bleaching) along the major areas of the Caribbean to Florida Keys, USA.
    2005 was recorded as the year with the highest storm names. There are 26 names storms that exceed the official roster. This year there are also about 14 storms, called the storm (hurricane), because it has wind speeds exceeding 119 km / h. Previous year's record of only 12 storms a year. 2005 was also a year with the most category 5 hurricane with winds of 249 km / h. The year 2005 was the most expensive losses due to the storm.
    2005 was the driest year ever since a few decades ago in the Amazon, South America. And the western United States suffer from drought.

Global Warming and Food Shortages with Violence: Clock Continues to Tick

For those not thoroughly worn out with talk of global warming (or worn out by the intense, unrelenting heat and drought in some parts of the globe--or the flip side of that pattern, the cool, damp weather in other areas), three articles that catch my eye today:

At The Nation, Mark Hertsgaard thinks it's possible to "make the 2012 heat wave a landmark event," if citizens use the newfound and increasingly widespread awareness that we are well into global warming as a rallying point for mobilization.  He also notes, as I've been noting, that food shortages with attendant violence can well be the outcome of these now recurrent cycles of heat and drought in many major food-producing parts of the planet:

Meanwhile, the United States is suffering the worst drought in fifty years, leading the Department of Agriculture to declare more than 1,000 counties—about one of every three in the nation—natural disaster zones. The reverberations will be global and may include violence. 

At Common Dreams (and The Guardian), Lester Brown also maintains that the world may be closer to food crisis than many of us dream.  Brown notes that initial optimism about a bumper crop of corn in America's breadbasket following this spring's warm weather has turned to dismay as relentless heat and drought are decimating the corn crop. 

He concludes:

The world is in serious trouble on the food front. But there is little evidence that political leaders have yet grasped the magnitude of what is happening. The progress in reducing hunger in recent decades has been reversed. Unless we move quickly to adopt new population, energy, and water policies, the goal of eradicating hunger will remain just that. 

Time is running out. The world may be much closer to an unmanageable food shortage – replete with soaring food prices, spreading food unrest, and ultimately political instability– than most people realise.

And at Common Dreams, Alexander Reed Kelly links to a Reuters report published in The Guardian which finds more than 53% of the U.S. suffering drought conditions, and about a third of the Midwest--the grain-producing heartland--in the most extreme drought the region has seen in five decades.

The clock is ticking.  And to many of us, it appears to be ticking down.

And as it does so, the U.S. Catholic bishops are doing everything short of standing on their heads to assure that Catholics vote for the party of "life" in the coming elections.  A party that appears not only to have absolutely no policy recommendations at all to address global warming, but which wants to give as many protections as possible to the industries producing the pollution that results in planetary climate change (and, it appears, which will produce food shortages and violence if the pattern persists).